American rap artist Macklemore, famous for his song “Thrift Shop”, was born Benjamin Haggerty in Seattle, Washington, June 1983. Having released only two albums and three EPs since debuting in 2000, Macklemore has stunned the scene with his catchy, danceable rhymes. Macklemore's biography had hip-hop written into it from the start. At the age of six, hip-hop hit Haggerty through the beats of Digital Underground. At fourteen, the future rap star started writing his own material, performing and leading music workshops for incarcerated young people. His raps are liberating, uplifting homages to the trials and tribulations of urban life. At the age of seventeen, Haggerty released his first EP, entitled “Open Your Eyes,” under the stage name Professor Macklemore. Five years later, Haggerty, now just straight Macklemore, released his first album, “The Language of My World”. Dedication came naturally to the young rapper, but success was slow. In 2006, Haggerty met friend and soon-to-be long-time collaborator, producer Ryan Lewis. This meeting was the beginning of Macklemore's ascent to popular fame and critical acclaim. Haggerty and Lewis hit the road together, performing at Bumbershoot, Sasquatch, Outside Lands and other West Coast music festivals over the years. In 2009, Macklemore released “The Unplanned Mixtape”, followed soon after by “The VS. Redux”, which reached the seventh spot on the iTunes Hip Hop chart. The next three years would see EPs, singles, mixtapes, remixes and countless festival appearances by the up-and-coming Macklemore, but no albums. In 2012, Macklemore switched it up, releasing “The Heist”, his first full-length album in seven years. “The Heist” hit the second spot on the US Billboard 200 chart just weeks after its release in October of that year. The singles “Same Love” and “Thrift Shop” became instant hits. “Thrift Shop” kept the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 for six weeks—Macklemore's first number-one hit.